The present invention relates to a print control method according to which a data transmitting apparatus transmits print data and any one of a plurality of printing means prints out the transmitted print data, a printer, a data processing apparatus, a data transmitting apparatus and a print control apparatus which implement the method, a printing system which uses these apparatuses, and a recording medium in which a program for realizing the above is recorded.
Currently in a popular use is a system in which a plurality of clients and one server are connected to a network such as a LAN so as to share one printer. In such a system, since other print requests can not be accepted during processing of one print request transmitted to a printer from a client through the server, a print request must be made once again after the processing completes. Since this requires the server which temporarily holds print requests from the clients to monitor a processing status of the printer, there is a problem that a load upon the server increases.
In order to solve the problem, the applicant of the present patent application has proposed the following method in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-36472 (1996). That is, logical printers which are a plurality of virtual printers that are operable independently of each other are set within one printer which physically exists, so that it is possible to process print requests from a plurality of clients in parallel, and therefore, one printer can be used as a plurality of printers. It is possible to accept a plurality of print requests at the same time as the print requests are managed as print queue, which not only reduces a load upon the server but also enhances a throughput of a system as a whole. The applicant of the present patent application refers to such a printer that a plurality of virtual printers are set in an actual printer, as a xe2x80x9cvirtual system printerxe2x80x9d.
However, with conventional methods, when a designated logical printer is in the process of printing, it is necessary to queue to the end of print queue for the designated logical printer so as to wait for printing, or it is necessary to judge operating statuses of logical printers which can accept a print request, select an unoccupied logical printer and make a print request once again to the selected logical printer. Hence, there is a problem that a waiting time is uneconomical if printing is to be waited, and that manually executing complicated processing is troublesome if a print request needs be made once again.
Particularly when a re-designated logical printer has a different (communication) protocol from an initially designated logical printer, it is necessary not only to designate the logical printer once again but to convert the protocol as well, which is a problem that the conversion takes a further time than where the protocols are the same.
In addition, since print requests are received from the plurality of clients, during printing for a print request from one client which takes time, even if other clients issue print requests, those print requests must wait a long time until actual printing takes place. This therefore is a problem that there is an uneconomical waiting time even when a print request is directed to an available logical printer and a total throughput accordingly decreases.
Further, since connection lines connecting LAN lines and printers have a slower data transmission rate than LAN lines, the connection lines serve as an obstacle against a data transmission rate for data which are transmitted from the server to the printers through the LAN lines and the connection lines. Hence, there is a problem that when print requests build up, slow data transmission occupies the LAN lines which are faster and an overall throughput accordingly drops. In this case, the overall throughput decreases when a particular printer is crowded with printing even despite a buffer apparatus which is disposed between the LAN lines and the printers and temporarily stores print requests. Still further, a similar problem arises also when a data transmission volume from the server to the printers exceeds a processing speed of the printers to receive data.
The present invention has been made to solve the problems as described above. Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a print control method with which it is possible to make a print request for print data created by a data transmitting apparatus, designating a logical printer (virtual printer) which is to execute printing, and when the designated logical printer is in the process of printing, automatically switch the print request to other logical printer than the designated logical printer so that an uneconomical time to wait for printing is reduced and a job of making a print request again is omitted, to provide a printer, a data processing apparatus, a data transmitting apparatus and a print control apparatus which implement the method, to provide a printing system which uses these apparatuses, and to provide a recording medium in which a program for performing print control is recorded.
Other object of the present invention is to provide a print control method with which it is possible to automatically perform protocol conversion if a logical printer which was switched over to has a different protocol from an initially designated logical printer, so as to omit protocol conversion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a print control apparatus which temporality stores print requests, selects a printer which can efficiently execute printing, and makes a print request to the printer without using through a LAN line, so as to prevent an overall throughput from decreasing.
Still further, the present invention aims at providing a print control method with which it is possible to automatically change a print request directed to a certain logical printer of a printer into a print request directed to other printer, so as to shorten a print waiting time and therefore prevent an overall throughput from decreasing.
A printer according to a first invention is a printer comprising a plurality of virtual printing means, which share a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data supplied from outside, and processing print data by printing means corresponding to communication setting which is used when the print data is supplied, characterized by comprising: judging means for judging whether printing means corresponding to communication setting of supplied print data is operating or not; and controlling means for, when the judging means judges that the printing means is operating, controlling any one of remaining printing means which is not operating to process the print data.
According to the first invention, the control is that whether a plurality of virtual printers (logical printers) provided in a physical printer are operating or not is judged in addition to judging the physical printer, and when a printer designated by print data transmitted from outside is operating (printing), a print request, for example, is automatically switched to other printer than the designated printer, whereby a printer which is not operating performs printing. Hence, it is possible to reduce an uneconomical time waiting for printing and omit, for an operator, a job of requesting for printing once again.
A data processing apparatus according to a third invention is a data processing apparatus for transmitting print data supplied from outside to physical printing means or any one of a plurality of virtual printing means set in physical printing means which share a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data, characterized by comprising: a table which shows whether the printing means are operating or not; means for judging whether the printing means are operating or not based on the table; and means for, when it is judged that printing means designated as a first transmission destination is operating, selecting other printing means which is not operating as a second transmission destination.
Apparatus according to the third invention, the table which shows whether respective printers, such as a physical printer and virtual printers, are operating or not is provided, and judgement whether a designated printer is operating or not referring to the table is executed. When the designated printer is operating (printing), a print request, for example, is automatically switched to other printer than the designated printer, so that a printer which is not operating performs printing. Hence, it is possible to reduce an uneconomical time waiting for printing and omit, for an operator, a job of requesting for printing once again.
A data transmitting apparatus according to a fifth invention is a data transmitting apparatus for transmitting print data to physical printing means or any one of a plurality of virtual printing means set in physical printing means which share a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data, characterized by comprising: a table which shows whether the printing means are operating or not; means for judging whether the printing means are operating or not based on the table; means for, when it is judged that printing means designated as a first transmission destination is operating, deleting the print data transmitted to the first transmission destination; and means for transmitting the print data to other printing means which is not operating as a second transmission destination.
A recording medium apparatus according to a fifteenth invention is a computer readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to transmit print data to physical printing means or a plurality of viral printing means set in physical printing means which share a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data, characterized by comprising: first program code means for causing a computer to transmit print data by communication settings set separately for respective printing means, so that any one of the printing means performs printing; second program code means for causing a computer to set up a table which shows whether the printing means are operating or not and/or information relating to print processing capabilities of the printing means; third program code means for causing the computer to judge, based on the table set up by the computer, whether the printing means are available for printing; fourth program code means for causing the computer, when it is judged that printing means designated as a first transmission destination is not available for printing, to delete the print data transmitted to the first transmission destination; and fifth program code means for causing the computer to transmit the print data to other printing means which is available for printing as a second transmission destination.
According to the fifth and the fifteenth inventions, the data transmitting apparatus or a computer comprises a table which shows whether respective printers, such as a physical printer and virtual printers, are operating or not, and whether a designated printer is operating is judged referring to the table. When the designated printer is operating (printing), after deleting print data which were already transmitted to the designated printer, a print request, for example, is automatically switched to other printer than the designated printer, thereby controlling such that a printer which is not operating performs printing. Hence, it is possible to automate the processing, in accordance with the switching, of deleting the print data which were transmitted at the beginning, to reduce an uneconomical time waiting for printing and omit, for an operator, a job of requesting for printing once again.
A printer according to a second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the control means comprises: means for judging communication setting of the supplied print data; and means for, when it is judged that the communication setting does not correspond to printing means for processing the print data, converting the communication setting into communication setting corresponding to the printing means.
A data processing apparatus according to a fourth invention is characterized in that, in the third invention, further comprising: means for judging communication settings used for transmitting print data to printing means of the first and second transmission destinations; and means for, when it is judged that communication settings corresponding to printing means as the first and second transmission destinations are different from each other, converting communication setting corresponding to the first transmission destination into communication setting corresponding to the second transmission destination.
A data transmitting apparatus according to a sixth invention is characterized in that, in the fifth invention, further comprising: means for judging communication settings used for transmitting print data to printing means of the first and second transmission destinations; and means for, when it is judged that communication settings corresponding to the first and second transmission destinations are different from each other, converting communication setting corresponding to the first transmission destination into communication setting corresponding to the second transmission destination.
A print control apparatus according to an eighth invention is characterized in that, in the seventh invention, further comprising: means for judging communication settings used for transmitting print data to printing means of the first and second transmission destinations; and means for, when it is judged that communication settings corresponding to the first and second transmission destinations are different from each other, converting communication setting corresponding to the first transmission destination into communication setting corresponding to the second transmission destination.
A recording medium according to a fourteenth invention is characterized in that, in a thirteenth invention, the third program code means comprises: program code means for causing the computer to judge communication settings used for transmitting print data to printing means of the first and the second transmission destinations; and program code means for causing the computer, when it is judged that the communication settings corresponding to the first and the second transmission destinations are different from each other, to convert communication setting corresponding to the first transmission destination into communication setting corresponding to the second transmission destination.
A recording medium according to a sixteenth invention is characterized in that, in the fifteenth invention, the fifth program code means comprises: program code means for causing the computer to judge communication settings used for transmitting print data to printing means of the first and the second transmission destinations; and program code means for causing the computer, when it is judged that the communication settings corresponding to the first and the second transmission destinations are different from each other, to convert communication setting corresponding to the first transmission destination into communication setting corresponding to the second transmission destination.
A print control method according to an eighteenth invention is characterized in that, in the seventeenth invention, the fourth step further comprising steps of judging communication settings used for transmitting print data to printing means of the first and the second transmission destinations; when it is judged that communication settings corresponding to the first and the second transmission destinations are different from each other, converting communication setting corresponding to the first transmission destination into communication setting corresponding to the second transmission destination; and transmitting the print data to printing means of the second transmission destination using the converted communication setting.
According to the second, the fourth, the sixth, the eighth, the fourteenth, the sixteenth and the eighteenth inventions, when initially designated communication setting such as a protocol for transmission and reception of print data by communication are different from communication setting which are set for a printer to be switched to, the communication setting is automatically converted. Hence, it is possible not only to reduce an uneconomical time waiting for printing and omit for an operator a job of requesting for printing once again, but also to eliminate for an operator a job of individually executing protocol conversion for every switching over.
A print control apparatus according to a seventh invention is a print control apparatus for transmitting print data supplied from outside to physical printing means or any one of a plurality of virtual printing means set in physical printing means which share a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data, characterized by comprising: means for receiving print data through a data processing apparatus transmitted from a data transmitting apparatus which transmits print data using communication settings set separately for respective printing means; a table which shows whether the printing means are operating or not and/or information relating to print processing capabilities of the printing means; means for judging whether the printing means are available for printing or not based on the table; and means for, when it is judged that printing means designated as a first transmission destination of the print data is not available for printing, selecting other printing means which is available for printing as a second transmission destination.
A recording medium apparatus according to the thirteenth invention is a computer readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to transmit print data to physical printing means or a plurality of virtual printing means set in physical printing means which share a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data, characterized by comprising: first program code means for causing a computer to set up a table which shows whether the printing means are operating or not and/or information relating to print processing capabilities of the printing means; second program code means for causing the computer to judge, based on the table set up by the computer, whether the printing means are available for printing; third program code means for causing the computer, when it is judged that printing means designated as a first transmission destination is not available for printing, to transmit print data to other printing means which is available for printing as a second transmission destination.
A print control method according to a seventeenth invention is a print control method for printing by transmitting print data to physical printing means or a plurality of virtual printing means set in physical printing means which share a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data, characterized by comprising: a first step of referring to a table which shows whether the printing means are operating or not and/or information relating to print processing capabilities of the printing means; a second step of judging whether the printing means are available for printing or not based on the table; a third step of, when it is judged that printing means designated as a first transmission destination of print data is not available for printing, selecting other printing means available for printing as a second transmission destination; and a fourth step of transmitting the print data to the printing means selected as the second transmission destination.
According to the seventh, the thirteenth and the seventeenth inventions, the print control apparatus or a computer comprises a table which shows whether respective printers, such as a physical printer and virtual printers, are operating or not, and whether a designated printer is operating or not is judged referring to the table. When the designated printer is operating (printing), a print request, for example, is automatically switched to other printer than the designated printer, thereby controlling such that a printer which is not operating performs printing. Hence, it is possible to reduce an uneconomical time waiting for printing and omit for an operator a job of requesting for printing once again.
Further, according to the seventh, the thirteenth, the seventeenth and the fifteenth inventions, the print control apparatus or a computer comprises a table which shows information relating to print processing capabilities of respective printers, such as a physical printer and virtual printers, and a processing capability (printing capability) of a designated printer is judged and a transmission rate of print data to the designated printer, for example, is judged referring to the table, to thereby judge whether the designated printer can print out the print data. When the designated printer can not print out the print data, a print request, for example, is automatically switched to other printer than the designated printer, thereby controlling such that a printer which is not operating performs printing. Hence, it is possible to reduce an uneconomical time waiting for printing and omit for an operator a job of requesting for printing once again. In addition, since the designated printer is automatically switched while checking a condition, such as a transmission rate of print data, against the printing capability of the designated printer, a network which is capable of realizing high-speed communication will not be unnecessarily occupied with transmission of print data which is beyond the processing capability (printing capability) of the designated printer. Further, the printing capability may include a data transmission rate on a path in the network for transmitting from a transmission source of the print data to the designated printer, so that even when the path in the network has a relatively low transmission rate, the network will not be nevertheless unnecessarily occupied. Hence, it is possible to prevent an overall throughput from decreasing.
A printing system according to a ninth invention is A printing system, characterized by comprising: a data transmitting apparatus for transmitting print data; a data processing apparatus for receiving print data transmitted from the data transmitting apparatus and transmitting received print data; and a printer as set forth in claim 1 or 2, or the printer and physical printing means, which receives print data transmitted from the data processing apparatus and processes received print data.
A printing system according to a tenth invention is a printing system, characterized by comprising: a data transmitting apparatus for transmitting print data; a data processing apparatus as set forth in claim 3 or 4 which receives print data transmitted from the data transmitting apparatus and transmits received print data; and a printer, or the printer and physical printing means, which comprises a plurality of virtual printing means sharing a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data, receives print data transmitted from the data processing apparatus, and prints received print data.
A printing system according to an eleventh invention is a printing system, characterized by comprising: a data transmitting apparatus as set forth in claim 5 or 6 for transmitting print data; a data processing apparatus for receiving print data transmitted from the data transmitting apparatus and transmitting received print data; and a printer, or the printer and physical printing means, which comprises a plurality of virtual printing means sharing a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data, receives print data transmitted from the data processing apparatus, and prints received print data.
A printing system according to a twelfth invention is a printing system, characterized by comprising: a data transmitting apparatus for transmitting print data; a data processing apparatus for receiving prnt data transmitted from the data transmitting apparatus and transmitting received print data; a print control apparatus as set forth in claim 7 or 8 for receiving print data transmitted from the data processing apparatus and transmitting received print data; and a printer, or the printer and physical printing means, which comprises a plurality of virtual printing means sharing a physical portion and operate independently of each other for parallelly processing a plurality pieces of print data, receives print data transmitted from the print control apparatus, and prints received print data.
According to the ninth, the tenth, the eleventh and the twelfth inventions, apparatuses in accordance with the respective inventions comprise tables which show whether respective printers, such as a physical printer and virtual printers, are operating or not, and whether a designated printer is operating or not is judged referring to the tables. When the designated printer is operating (printing), a print request, for example, is automatically switched to other printer than the designated printer, thereby controlling such that a printer which is not operating performs printing. Hence, it is possible to reduce an uneconomical time waiting for printing and omit for an operator a job of requesting for printing once again.